Under the Ruins
by MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: The world was ending, but they held on until the very end. Wolfstar Pompeii!AU Warnings for language, character death, violence, sickness, and angst.


**A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts. Writing Club prompts are listed below. :)**

 **Geology Task 1: Write a Pompeii!AU**

 **Word Count: 1921**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.**

 **WARNINGS: Language, character death (graphic), violence, sickness, and lots of angst**

 **Note: Remus has Multiple Sclerosis. Symptoms include numbness or weakness in limbs, partial or complete loss of vision with eye pain, double vision, tingling pain in body parts, electric shock sensations that occur with neck movement, tremors or lack of coordination, dizziness, fatigue, and slurred speech. I do not have this condition, so if there are any inaccuracies please PM me—I want to make this as real as possible, and definitely don't want to offend anyone.**

 **Thanks to Gabby and Lucy for beta'ing!**

 **Enjoy!**

Remus' amber eyes were wide as he stared into his lover's face. Sirius' skin was streaked black from the ash around them, and his grey eyes were clouded with terror, but his presence soothed Remus' panic. It was odd, the feeling inside of him—he'd never been more petrified in his life, but there was a certain calm that washed over him when his heart accepted the truth.

Wanting to share this same certainty with Sirius, he fought against his parched throat to choke out, "We're going to die."

Slowly, Sirius nodded. "Yes," he said simply. "I… I love…"

He broke into a fit of coughing, but Remus knew what he wanted to say. "I love you, too."

Sirius' hand scrambled weakly through the pebbles they were lying on, searching for Remus' hand. "I'm scared," he admitted. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

Remus' cheek was pressed hard against the rocks that the mountain had spewn out. No, this wasn't how things were supposed to end. But he couldn't change things, no matter how desperately he wished he could. He ran the pad of his thumb over Sirius' knuckles. He didn't say anything, but his silence spoke volumes.

* * *

" _Sirius, what are you doing?" Remus asked, laughing, as his lover wrapped his arms around him from behind._

" _Mmm," Sirius mumbled into the shorter man's neck. "Do I need a reason to express my love to you?"_

 _Remus disentangled himself, barely hiding a grin. "Normally when you do something like this, it's because you want something out of it."_

 _Sirius put a hand on his chest, pretending to be offended. "Why, I'd never."_

 _Remus rolled his eyes fondly. The two of them had had a lot of misery in their lives—Remus was the disgraced son of a nobleman and a slave, and Sirius came from a highly political family whose views clashed heavily against his own—but now finally, with each other, they had their peace. He was just about to retort when the earth began trembling._

 _Both men stumbled slightly, caught by surprise. Sirius frowned at Remus when the ground finally stilled. "What was that?"_

 _Remus bit his lip, looking over that the goblets that had fallen off of their dining table. "I'm not sure. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about."_

 _A short while later, the earth rumbled again, and this time Remus was thrown from his chair. Sirius, who had been walking towards him, was able to catch himself against the wall, but Remus had no such luck; he fell heavily against the ground, hitting his head against the floor. Sirius rushed to his side once the tremors had halted._

" _Are you all right?"_

 _Remus nodded, startled and nervous. "I'm fine. What—"_

 _He didn't get to finish his question. From outside their house, someone screamed, "The mountain!"_

 _Sirius helped Remus to his feet, and the two men sprinted outside. In the distance, a column of smoke kilometers high rose from Mt. Vesuvius. The streets were filling with people, and Remus could hear more screaming. All he could do was watch; this was an unprecedented event, and he had no idea what was causing it._

" _Let's go inside." The voice belonged to Sirius, and Remus reluctantly tore his gaze away from the funnel of darkness soaring above them. "Remus, let's go. It's not safe out here."_

 _Remus let Sirius drag him back towards their home, but then something stopped him in his tracks._

" _Sirius, it's… it's getting darker."_

 _And it was. The column of darkness that had ascended from Vesuvius was quickly spreading over the city of Pompeii. Remus and Sirius shared alarmed looks as screams erupted from around them. Someone was lighting lanterns; the dark cloud had blocked out all the light. Something began falling from the sky, smarting against Remus' skin as it hit._

" _Can it be?" he murmured, catching some of the material in his hand._

" _Pebbles?" Sirius questioned. "The mountain threw out pebbles?"_

" _They're too light," Remus answered, "to be regular pebbles. Sirius, I don't think—"_

 _There was a loud crash, and the people on the street, most of whom had taken shelter under canopies, all craned their necks to see what had caused the noise. A man lay dead on the street some feet away, his head bleeding heavily. Before Remus could see what had caused it, Sirius had tugged him into a doorway, then held him close._

" _Remus," he muttered urgently, "I know that you want to know about this, but I'm begging you—quell your curiosity. This is dangerous. This is lethal."_

 _Remus frowned up at his lover. "I'm not going to do anything reckless. Did—did you see what killed him?"_

 _In answer, Sirius pointed up at the sky; the whites of his eyes practically glowing in the darkness. Remus' gaze trailed up to where he was pointing, and his stomach dropped. He hadn't been able to see before, but heavier rocks were raining down upon the city, bigger than his fist and fatal. The crowds on the streets were quickly thinning as people were struck down one by one, running through doors and ducking into sheltered spaces. Some were just running, desperately trying to escape. It couldn't be that dire; could it?_

" _Regulus," Sirius suddenly gasped. The Black brothers had a rocky relationship, but Remus knew that Regulus had a special place in his lover's heart. While he wasn't as prejudiced as his parents, Regulus was a far cry from accepting of those around him—he was sort of the halfway point between Sirius and his parents. "Remus, I can't leave—"_

" _Let's go." There was no doubt in Remus' mind now that they would have to leave—the deadly rain showed no signs of stopping—and he wouldn't come in between Sirius and his brother._

 _Sirius hesitated, his face streaked with the ash that was falling from the sky. "I'll go; you stay—"_

" _No," Remus interrupted firmly. He didn't care that his health was poor, or that the physical exertion was more taxing on him than others—this was hell, and he wouldn't allow the two of them to be separated. "I'm going with you. I can't wait here, worrying that you won't make it back. We do this together."_

 _Sirius grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss, his long fingers digging into Remus' hair. After a moment, Remus pulled away. The temperature around them was rising, and he knew that their time was limited._

* * *

Remus' amber eyes fluttered closed, his mouth and throat raw and burning. His head felt like lead, and he was just about to relax when he felt someone patting his cheek. He cracked his eyes open to see Sirius gazing at him.

"Hey there, pretty boy. Don't go to sleep quite yet."

Remus rolled his eyes, the action shooting rods of pain throughout his head. "I'm tired. Why can't I just…"

Sirius looked away, portions of his hands and face blood red, stained from his wounds. "I don't… I don't want to be left here. Even for a moment." He took a shuddering breath and turned to meet Remus' gaze once more. "I can't be alone."

Remus weakly shook his head, crawling over to his lover with great difficulty. He put his head on Sirius' chest, curling his fingers into the fabric of the other man's tunic. "You won't be. Whichever one of us is taken first—" He broke into a coughing fit. When he was finished, he hoarsely continued. "—the other won't be long after. It's not like I'm g-going to leave you in the afterlife. Don't be an idiot."

He coughed again, and Sirius placed a strong hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades. "I was always this much of an idiot." Remus glanced up to see him smirking. "But you're right, Remus. I just… I always thought it would be quick."

Remus coughed violently as he nodded, his lungs feeling as though they were filled with liquid fire. "I know."

"We were supposed to visit Harry next w-week. With Lily a-and James."

Remus gasped for breath. "I know, S-Sirius. I wanted to see them, too."

Sirius buries his face in Remus' hair. "I'll never know him. He'll never know us."

Through the pain and anguish, Remus knew how heavily this was weighing on his partner's mind. He'd been so excited to find out that he'd be a godfather. Remus wished they'd left earlier; maybe then his lover wouldn't be feeling such remorse.

"I p-promised James I'd watch o-out for him," Sirius gasped between coughs. "I told him—"

"He'll understand," Remus wheezed.

Unbeknownst to the two men, a part of Vesuvius had collapsed, and the surge was headed straight for them.

* * *

" _What do you mean, you're not coming?" Sirius demanded, incredulous. "Regulus, I know we don't always get on but it's not safe—"_

" _That's not it, Sirius," the younger Black said quietly. "Mother and Father aren't leaving. Neither is the rest of the family. They believe the gods will spare our family."_

 _Remus stepped forward to face the younger man who looked so much like his lover. "The gods won't spare anyone. Staying here means certain death; leaving means a chance."_

 _Regulus regarded him with slight discomfort; he'd never quite gotten over Remus' poor status. "I know that. But family is everything. I can't leave them now."_

" _But you'll leave me," Sirius whispered. "Do I matter so little to you?"_

 _Regulus frowned, his features—softer than Sirius'—twisting. "You left us. You left me."_

 _Sirius flinched at his brother's words, and Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here now, Regulus. And I want to save you."_

 _Regulus Black shook his head. "I don't want to be saved. But your lover—I've heard of his condition. If you want to get him out alive, you should go now."_

 _Remus tensed; Sirius looked between the two, torn. Finally, the disgraced Black heir grabbed his lover's arm. "Let's go, Remus."_

 _Remus' jaw dropped. "But your brother—"_

" _Is as stubborn as I am," Sirius finished firmly. He turned to his brother. "This is goodbye."_

 _Regulus nodded once, but Remus knew he wasn't imagining the sheen in his eyes. "I'll see you in the next life."_

 _Sirius shuddered and said, "I'll see you then."_

* * *

In the end, it had been Remus' fault that they didn't make it out of the city. His illness made him slow, and Sirius had kept insisting that they stop so he could recuperate. Then the air had turned poisonous, and they had fallen to the ground, exhausted and in too much pain to move.

They would die here.

Remus was only glad it was with Sirius.

"You can," he began, interrupted by coughing. "You can go ahead and let me drown now. I don't—think I—"

He couldn't say anything more. The ashy air combined with his illness was making fast work of his death. His eyes locked onto Sirius' one last time.

Sirius bent his head down to kiss the other man's temple. In all this darkness and misery, all the terror and blood, their love had remained a comfort, and it hadn't fled in the face of death.

"I'll see you in just a moment," Sirius murmured.

With one last burst of strength, Remus lifted his head to connect his lips with Sirius'; his lifeless body hit the ground moments later. Sirius has no time to sob; his own breath was snatched away mere minutes later.

The last pyroclastic surge fell over Pompeii, burying the city and the two lovers for the next several thousand years.

 **A/N: Writing Club Prompts:**

 **Character Appreciation: (features) messy hair**

 **Disney Challenge: Courage: Write about someone being courageous despite their fear.**

 **Dark Lady's Diabolical Lair: Blood red**

 **Book Club: Tony — (emotion) remorse,(plot point) losing something, (dialogue) "I was always this much of an idiot."**

 **Showtime: Think of Me — (dialogue) "Can it be?"**

 **Amber's Attic: "Let's fall in love as if the world is on fire, and there is nothing left but ash and us."**

 **Lyric Alley: Falling like a cannonball, falling to the earth**

 **Ami's Audio Admirations: The Murders that Follow — (theme) multiple people dying**

 **Angel's Arcade: Rouge the Bat —(color) white, (action) smirking, (dialogue) "Hey there, pretty boy."**

 **Lo's Lowdown: (dialogue) "You can go ahead and let me drown now." —Toph**

 **Film Festival: (plot point) staying with family**


End file.
